Forum discussions have been utilised widely as a means of facilitating learning interaction and social-knowledge construction in online learning. Much research has been conducted on the instructional interventions that benefit asynchronous discussions. Role-playing, or assigning roles to discussants, has been proven effective in promoting…

Responding to the need for learning to remain engaging and productive while classrooms have moved online, a qualitative study was conducted to gain greater insight into the use of asynchronous online discussions as a replacement for their in-class counterpart. Specifically, the researchers aimed to gauge student responses to their use of the…

The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented challenge for wider society and has impacted all facets of life, including Higher Education Institution (HEIs) provision for teaching and learning -- demanding an immediate digital response. The core challenge lies with the inherent choice made by students upon embarking on an undergraduate degree;…

This book provides a framework for synchronous and asynchronous online language teaching. It elaborates on the key features of an online teaching setting, including the instructional media that are involved in it, their affordances and limitations, and recommends ways to adapt pedagogy to suit the online environment. To this end, the book draws on…

Taking into account prior research suggesting a lack of student participation in online discussions, this study examines the influence of peer moderator (PM) role assignment on students' participation and that of their peers' participation in online discussions. Eighty-four participants operated in a moderator role, reciprocally. Moreover, the…

The student perspective in research of K-12 online and STEM education is largely absent but is important for understanding how both of these areas can come together to best serve students. This study used teacher ratings, school data and student interviews to investigate the perceptions students in online STEM courses have of their past and…

Asynchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools, such as asynchronous online discussions (AODs), are widely used in higher education. The organization of AODs is of pedagogical importance, particularly for online-only classes, as these discussions are one of the major opportunities for participants to develop understanding of course…

Online course facilitation is critical to the success of online courses. Instructors use various facilitation strategies in online courses to engage students. One hundred instructors were surveyed on their perception of helpfulness of twelve different facilitation strategies used in online courses to enhance instructor presence, instructor…

We completed a qualitative study focusing on our students' use of Discussion Roles in our general and entry level online classes and presented the information at a Brown Bag presentation for University of Phoenix instructors and staff in October 2016. The following contains the results of the study including: (1) ways to use Discussion Roles in…

Research has focused on the significance of social presence in online learning. However, peer interaction does not always result in positive emotions and feelings; it can trigger tension, distress, and anger within a learning community. Therefore, conflictual presence, as a carrier of negative valence within presence, is also a critical element…

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of scripted roles on students' level of cognitive presence in asynchronous online threaded discussions. A quantitative content analysis was used to investigate: (1) what level of cognitive presence is achieved by students' assigned roles in asynchronous online discussions; (2) differences…

This application brief describes a "Module Discussant" activity assigned in an online graduate-level leadership theory course. The assignment was designed to stimulate higher-level thinking, apply leadership theory to practice, and foster extensive communication among students in the online learning environment using a common learning…

More and more educational institutions have been moving towards delivering courses and programs at a distance. Although asynchronous online courses overcome the constraints of time, students feel isolated due to the lack of real-time communications. One possible solution to overcome this isolation been suggested that learner's online behavior and…

More and more educational institutions are moving towards online distance learning. Although asynchronous online learning overcomes the constraints of time, place and pace, online distance learners feel isolated due to the lack of real-time communications. One possible solution for overcoming this sense of isolation is regulating student online…

Going beyond the recent surge of papers on the flipped classroom, this article calls for an active "constructionist" approach to flipping classrooms. Not only are homework and lecture sessions flipped, students create, or "construct" knowledge outside of class and present to others through group learning activities. The…